Margaret Patricia Morgan

Four dimensions of the collaborative composing processes of student writers

Margaret Patricia Morgan

School: Purdue University (0183)

Degree: Ph.D.

Date: 1988 pp: 189

Advisor: Lauer, Janice M.

Source: DAI-A 50/03, p. 640, Sep 1989

Subjects: Education, Language And Literature (0279)

ProQuest Document Number:

ISBN:

UMI Number: AAT 8911959

Abstract:

To date, no case study research has examined the collaborative composing processes of college student writers using a shared document model of collaboration. In this study, four student groups, each preparing a research proposal, were videotaped while they planned and drafted their documents. Group interactions were analyzed along four dimensions: problem identification, group organizing patterns, drafting behaviors, and leadership. Findings show that (1) the group writing the highest ranked proposal used first-hand evidence to identify a problem; (2) groups drafted either by dividing the text into parts with each member writing a part or by drafting together as a group; (3) groups used 29 different speaking, writing, and reading behaviors during drafting; and (4) the group members writing the highest ranked proposals shared leadership in the group. Before there can be effective teaching using a collaborative pedagogy, there must be a greater understanding of how groups write collaboratively.